Every year GM performs a door-to-door census on all the stores in Georgetown. The thing is, though, that GM has gotten a bit busy (or lazy) and pushed off the census a little more every year. So by the time he got around to it this year, it was more like fifteen months since the last tally. As a result, the “changes” are probably exaggerated a bit.
But that said, GM is still crunching the numbers. To tide you over, here is the first bit of data: the number of stores that either opened or closed:
Opened: 43
Closed: 51
Bonus stat – Stores that moved within Georgetown: 7
The number of stores opened is fairly steady from the prior year, which was 42. The closures, however, are up a bunch. From 2013-2014 there were only 33 closures. That’s a 55% jump in closures. It seems hard to believe, actually, but here’s the complete list of closures:
-
R and G Pop Up Antiques Dalton Pratt P.O. Boxes Etc. Wagner’s Liquor Sabun Ipsa Salon Duo Capital Consignments Magnolia Massage Tari Marvelous Market Darrell Dean Fleurir Chocolates Amazon Andes Clairvoyant Healing Center Subway UTB Boutique Jack Spade Fashion Gallery Letelier Theater Neyla Coterie Pleasure Place Prince Alchemie Forever G. Morris Steinbraker Solar Planet Brush & Blush Bangcock Joes Snaidero Illuminations Inc. Rhino Bar Modern Lounge Capitol Prague Capitol Prague Café Archer Adlon Vivvy’s Nails Tackle Box True Religion Jeans Serendipity 3 Café La Ruche Lost Boys Zenobia Lounge Juicy Couture Ekti Salon Charm Rialto Chadwicks Cyclelife Cabello’s Salon
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
I dunno, Topher. There are a couple of restaurants here — Rialto and Bangcock Joes that changed name/concept, but are otherwise the same owner. I’ll miss Darrell Dean and Fleurir Chocolate, and maybe Neyla and Chadwicks are in the loss column, but the rest? Made room for something better!
Both Rialto and Bangcock Joe’s are trying a new concept out of desperation. Neither is performing well in the market. They are just buying time before they close.
It’s definitely more of an art than science, but I figure if the name is different, the “concept” different and it has a total renovation, the old restaurant is for all intents and purposes gone. Whether the ownership changed or didn’t change isn’t particularly material, in my opinion. But it’s a close call sometimes. I think, for instance, I didn’t count it as a closure when Bangcock Bistro became Mai Thai.